The day went on as usual as the two went to get coffee, then returned to the ZPD offices, where they continued with work as they took usual calls and filled out usual paperwork. Nick didn't say anything about the call and Judy didn't say anything about the possibility of Nick eavesdropping. Both were scared of the truth. Nick, however, couldn't help but be mad at himself as well as her. Why was she lying to him? How long had she been lying to him? Did he do something that made her think it was okay to lie to his face as if it were nothing? And most importantly: what was she hiding?
Judy was afraid he knew the secrets she was keeping from him. She felt the guilt tear at her heart all throughout the day. She wasn't trying to hurt Nick, it was just for the better. Judy had never been a liar, but now, she was practically a pro at it, which riddled her with guilt and regret. At this point, she had been keeping secrets from Nick for about a month. What she was planning was big, and while she had only been working on it for a month, she had gotten the idea around the time that Nick had run into some old Junior Ranger Scouts who had muzzled him when he was younger. She shivered slightly at that unpleasant memory; she hated thinking of the Nick she had seen during that time. While there had been no conclusion in the moment, a few weeks after the incident, the four animals were sentenced to prison for breaking and entering, as well as theft. It made Nick feel slightly better, but it bothered him that he couldn't have been the one to send them to prison. Judy was simply glad that they had finally received some justice.
For a month, Judy had guilt tugging at her as she continued on with life as if nothing were happening. Now, she couldn't take it anymore; she had to tell Nick soon, which had spurred all of the suspicion. However, Nick wasn't the only one she was keeping secrets from. Her friends and family were all oblivious to a few secrets she had decided to keep to herself. The pressure of sneaking around and lying was beginning to suffocate her, but she wasn't going to let it anymore. Tonight, she would tell Nick.
It was nearly 3:00 PM when Nick swiveled his chair over to Judy's cubicle, colliding into her chair. They both laughed, pretending nothing was going on. Pretending was easier at this point. As far as they both knew, they could be secretly losing each other, so why not pretend for the time being?
"You hungry, Carrots?"
"Not really."
"Ha, you now hungry?" Nick chuckled as his eyebrows shot up. "Don't make me laugh."
"You make it sound like I am a pig," Judy grinned at him.
"Hey, don't insult the pigs!" Nick laughed as Judy leaned over and playfully punched his arm. "No, but seriously, a Veggie Meal doesn't even sound good to you?"
"Yuck, that actually sounds disgusting right now," Judy toyed as she stuck out her tongue.
Nick looked at Judy in complete awe and with minor concern.
"Since when do you find vegetables disgusting? And I thought you loved Griz's cooking."
"I do, it just doesn't sound appealing right now."
"You okay?"
"Yeah," Judy replied, looking up from her computer as she did so. "Why?"
"You seem…unusual, lately."
"Do I?"
Nick nodded. He was easing into the bigger issue, but he was simply skimming the surface at the moment; breaking the tension.
"You feeling okay?"
Nick leaned forward and placed a paw on Judy's forehead, pretending to take her temperature in the most theatrical way possible. Judy giggled and pushed his hand away.
"I don't get sick, Nick."
Nick rolled his eyes.
"Maybe you should go home for the day just to be sure," he offered.
"You and I already miss quite a bit of work as is."
Both briefly thought of the traumatic events that had taken place over the last year, then proceeded with the conversation as if those thoughts hadn't surfaced.
"Yeah, but if you're sick, you're sick. Gotta take off work for that, Rabbit."
"I'm not sick."
"Alright, alright," Nick said, putting his paws up in defense. "I'm going to grab some food for myself then. Text me if you change your mind."
With that, Nick set out for the diner, their usual food place. On the drive over, Nick thought about Judy's behavior over the last few days. She wasn't one to hide things, but here she was, hiding everything. At the diner, Nick greeted Dawn, the white-tailed doe hostess, and then made his way back to the kitchen where Griz was, picked up his food as he made some mild conversation with the massive grizzly bear, and then made his way to the exit. That's when he saw Finnick's van parked in an alley across the street. His intrusiveness got the best of him, so he carefully crossed the street and knocked on the back of the van. As usual, Finnick answered the knock with a baseball bat in paw, ready to beat any unsavory visitors to a pulp.
"Oh, it's you," the fennec fox growled in a deep voice.
"Glad to see you too, Big Guy."
"Haven't seen you in a while. Whatya doing?"
"I have a couple of questions."
"Hey, if this is about my hustling–"
"It's not, it's about Judy," Nick answered quickly.
A grin spread across the little fox's face.
"You having lady issues?"
"In a sense, yes. She talk to you recently?"
"All business I see," Finnick mocked, but at the grave look on Nick's face, he continued. "Yeah, we talked a few days ago."
"What about?"
"I think if she wanted you to know she would have told you."
"I'm asking you."
Finnick let out a cackle.
"Your girl keeping things from you now, Nick?"
Nick didn't reply, a bitter look on his face. Finnick continued to laugh, his deep voice echoing in the van. After his laughter had somewhat ceased, he continued.
"Look, all I'm gonna tell you is that maybe you should keep a tighter leash on your girl."
"What's that suppose to mean?" Nick snapped.
"What do you think it means?" Finnick shrugged gingerly.
"Are you saying what I think you are?"
Finnick shrugged again.
"Let's just say that we aren't the only con artists in the world."
Nick nodded, his muscles tight.
"Thanks, Big Guy. See you around."
Nick crossed the street and got into the SUV, where he sat for a moment, his paws clenched tightly around the steering wheel. He sat there for a while, thinking everything over as he watched the busy streets around him. The longer Nick sat there in that car, the higher his anger rose. Thinking of what Finnick had said, Nick made a decision.
That was it, the final straw. He was going to see Judy, and he was ending this entire charade right this instant. Suddenly, Nick felt his phone vibrate. Fire coursing through his veins, Nick picked up his phone and saw a text from Judy.
"Where are u? Been gone for ever…"
The phone buzzed again, another text from her.
"I miss u. Come see me."
She had sent it with a winking face, which only seemed to anger Nick more. He started the SUV and drove to the ZPD, trying not to let his anger overcome him… yet. Once at the ZPD, Nick was practically shaking as he parked the car and began walking along the sidewalk to the entrance of the building. He pushed through the glass doors, where he was met with a cascade of noise.